[Sean.thomson]

I have an old fender 4x12 cab that has two input jack thingys, and I also have two fairly low wattage amps. Could I plug an amp into each jack? I'd only be using one at a time....

[Major Tom]

Originally Posted by Sean.thomson

I have an old fender 4x12 cab that has two input jack thingys, and I also have two fairly low wattage amps. Could I plug an amp into each jack? I'd only be using one at a time....

Absolutely not, unless it is wired as a stereo cab. if it is not stereo, the 2 jacks are in parallel, the purpose of the 2nd one is to be able to daisy chain another cab. Putting the 2 ouputs of 2 amps together could be disastrous. Even if only one is on at a time, the current from the one would be fed into the output section of the other - never do that.

You could rewire the thing as a stereo cab, 2 speakers wired to each jack, and then use a different amp into each side. Only using 2 speakers at a time in a 4x12 might sound a little funny - the 2 speakers not being used would act as passive radiators, which might give a "hollow" sound due to phase cancellation. Of course, as usual, you have to match the impedance of the speakers to the amp.

There are some amp-speaker switchers on the market, forget who makes 'em. I think they are kinda pricey though.

Are they solid state or tube amps?

[Sean.thomson]

Originally Posted by Major Tom

Absolutely not, unless it is wired as a stereo cab. if it is not stereo, the 2 jacks are in parallel, the purpose of the 2nd one is to be able to daisy chain another cab. Putting the 2 ouputs of 2 amps together could be disastrous. Even if only one is on at a time, the current from the one would be fed into the output section of the other - never do that.

You could rewire the thing as a stereo cab, 2 speakers wired to each jack, and then use a different amp into each side. Only using 2 speakers at a time in a 4x12 might sound a little funny - the 2 speakers not being used would act as passive radiators, which might give a "hollow" sound due to phase cancellation. Of course, as usual, you have to match the impedance of the speakers to the amp.

There are some amp-speaker switchers on the market, forget who makes 'em. I think they are kinda pricey though.

Are they solid state or tube amps?

Ah, ok. I'm still learnin' about all of this stuff....

And they're both tube amps. One's a 5w Champ and the other one is actually an old reel to reel recorder that doubles as an amp.

[LesPaulPlayer]

Originally Posted by Major Tom

Absolutely not, unless it is wired as a stereo cab. if it is not stereo, the 2 jacks are in parallel, the purpose of the 2nd one is to be able to daisy chain another cab. Putting the 2 ouputs of 2 amps together could be disastrous. Even if only one is on at a time, the current from the one would be fed into the output section of the other - never do that.

You could rewire the thing as a stereo cab, 2 speakers wired to each jack, and then use a different amp into each side. Only using 2 speakers at a time in a 4x12 might sound a little funny - the 2 speakers not being used would act as passive radiators, which might give a "hollow" sound due to phase cancellation. Of course, as usual, you have to match the impedance of the speakers to the amp.

There are some amp-speaker switchers on the market, forget who makes 'em. I think they are kinda pricey though.

Are they solid state or tube amps?

+ infinity.